{"id":174,"date":"2016-01-21T19:23:02","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T00:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/?p=174"},"modified":"2016-01-21T19:23:02","modified_gmt":"2016-01-22T00:23:02","slug":"the-new-stars-wars-movie-is-a-modern-mythology-for-our-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/01\/the-new-stars-wars-movie-is-a-modern-mythology-for-our-times.html","title":{"rendered":"The New Stars Wars Movie Is A Modern Mythology For Our Times."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SWars<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m in the pharmacy with my 7-year-old son. He points to an item on the shelf and asks, \u201cDaddy, may I have this for Christmas?\u201d I look at what he\u2019s pointing to. It\u2019s a black Darth Vader\u00a0<\/b>watch.<\/p>\n

So I ask him, \u201cWhy do you want this for Christmas?\u201d<\/p>\n

To which he responds, \u201cBecause all the boys in my class have one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hmm\u2026my dilemma: my son has never seen a\u00a0Star Wars\u00a0<\/i>movie; he knows little or nothing about the film and its characters; yet, he believes it would be cool and make him popular in class to have a Darth Vader watch dangling from his wrist.<\/p>\n

With the new\u00a0Star Wars<\/i>\u00a0installment\u00a0The Force Awakens<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>netting a cool $250 million\u00a0globally<\/a>\u00a0on opening day, my questions are: Has this latest movie in the\u00a0epic space series<\/a>\u00a0simply co-opted an already consumer-infested culture? Or does it contain a deeper mythological template that has something to say to the zeitgeist of the modern era?<\/p>\n

To my first question, the answer is an unequivocal \u201cyes.\u201d The entertainment industry would not survive without the merchandise that promotes it. And as for those of us who get suckered into buying Darth Vader watches and the like, I invite you to take a gander at my\u00a0article<\/a>\u00a0on consumerist living.<\/p>\n

To the second question, the answer is also a resounding \u201cyes.\u201d Now, I have only seen two\u00a0Star Wars<\/i>\u00a0movies over the years: the\u00a0original<\/a>\u00a01977 movie and\u00a0Attack of the Clones\u00a0<\/i>in\u00a02002<\/a>. To be honest, I\u2019m not a\u00a0Star Wars<\/i>\u00a0<\/b>groupie, but having read the\u00a0storyline<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Star Wars: The Force Awakens<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>and some decent\u00a0reviews<\/a>, it has all the ingredients of a prophetic epic.<\/p>\n

The fragmentation of the Republic into the Empire and the Rebel Alliance reflects all too easily the ethnic strife of many countries today. As many minorities struggle for equal rights, equal pay, and equal representation, the Old Guard invariably strikes back with\u00a0vengeance.<\/p>\n

Times like these prompt us to ask: Which side am I on? Do I wear the uniform of the Empire but surreptitiously support the rebellion? Am I just a bystander hoping the conflict will self-destruct because, after all, it\u2019s not my problem? Am I part of the Rebel Alliance but protesting in a militant and inhumane manner? What is the tenor of my engagement? Where do my loyalties lie?<\/p>\n

Star Wars<\/i>\u00a0as mythology and not merely entertainment can be instructive and inspirational. The characters of the movie powerfully portray the multitude of forces at work within us.<\/p>\n

Anakin, for example, personifies our power and prestige cravings. Luke mirrors our deep loyalty to friends. Obi-Wan is \u00a0the \u201cwise voice\u201d from within that prompts us when to act. Leia is our compassionate heart that feels called to serve humanity. Rey reflects our existential loneliness in the world. And Finn is the part of us that intuits when we\u2019re on the wrong path and need to re-set our mojo.<\/p>\n

We all embody these characters traits from time to time as we traverse the undulations of life. We walk, we trip, we get up again \u2014 just like these characters. We are kind, we are cruel, we are at peace, we are at war \u2014 just like our big screen icons.<\/p>\n

We are all amateur actors playing out roles and motifs on a larger stage. The conflict in our lives reflects the war in our stars.<\/p>\n

As\u00a0Imam Ali,\u00a0the\u00a0cousin and son-in-law\u00a0<\/a>of the Prophet Muhammad,\u00a0is reported to have said: \u201cMan thinks of himself as a small creature, but inside him is folded up the entire cosmos.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why I believe that epic movies like\u00a0<\/b>Star Wars, when considered closely enough, have folded up in their characters and plots, the very dramas that we act out on a daily basis \u2014 in our homes, workplaces, and on a national and global level.<\/p>\n

A new movie with an ancient script. But one that informs and behooves us to get off the fence and, as Mahatma Gandhi has\u00a0said<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>\u201cBe the change you wish to see in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as you do,\u00a0<\/i>\u201cMay the Force be with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cover Photo: Lucasfilm Ltd, 2014<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 I\u2019m in the pharmacy with my 7-year-old son. He points to an item on the shelf and asks, \u201cDaddy, may I have this for Christmas?\u201d I look at what he\u2019s pointing to. It\u2019s a black Darth Vader\u00a0watch. So I ask him, \u201cWhy do you want this for Christmas?\u201d To which he responds, \u201cBecause all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2586,"featured_media":177,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe New Stars Wars Movie Is A Modern Mythology For Our Times.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  I'm in the pharmacy with my 7-year-old son. He points to an item on the shelf and asks, "Daddy, may I have this for Christmas?" 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